Pump Fun and Kraken delete Hunter Biden $LAPTOP promotion

Pump Fun and Kraken have deleted posts promoting the upcoming release of Hunter Biden’s laptop-themed memecoin on Base.

On Monday, both crypto firms promoted “$LAPTOP,” due to launch on Wednesday, and trumpeted how it would be tradable on both platforms.

However, the token’s release drew intense backlash from the crypto community, likely leading to the deletion of the posts.

Crypto influencers hate Biden memecoin

Numerous prominent crypto influencers have also denounced the memecoin.

Ansem, real name Zion Thomas, compared it to previous celebrity launches that went poorly while Threadguy called the pre-announced token a “scam” that is going to dump “my low cap gems.”

Rasmr went even harder, comparing the launch to 9/11.

Threadguy said, “The problem is everybody knowing about it pre launch completely ruins any chance of success. malicious or not.”

The show Market Bubble, hosted by Thomas and Faze Banks, also cancelled its upcoming Thursday interview with Biden.

Other onlookers criticised this crypto influencer narrative as hypocritical thanks to their previous support for various celebrity coins, such as Donald Trump’s.

Base staff distance company from laptop memecoin

$LAPTOP is being launched on Base. The platform’s creator Jesse Pollak and prominent crypto investor Cobie have been on damage control since the launch was announced by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Pollak said they were approached by Biden’s team, but that they chose “to be hands off” due to politics. Cobie was busy dispelling rumours that Base itself was launching the token.

WSJ reported that 30% of the memecoin’s supply will go to Biden and other co-founders, while 20% will go to Biden’s substack subscribers, subscribers of YouTube journalist Andrew Callahan’s mailing list, and traders who lost funds on Trump’s memecoin.

The token would reportedly be tradable on Pump Fun at 8 am EST, and will launch on September 9.

Channel 5 also distances itself from laptop

Channel 5, Callahan’s YouTube-based news channel that’s frequently interviewed Joe Biden’s son, claimed it has no connection to his coin and that it will never “advertise crypto.”

Channel 5 added that it was able to pull its subscriber list from Hunter’s team before any emails were sent. The channel received backlash for giving up the email list in the first place.

What’s the deal with the laptop?

Biden’s laptop became the center of a political debate as to whether or not his father was involved in helping his Ukraine business interests.

The New York Post published a story three weeks before the 2020 presidential election that claimed the laptop’s contents proved there was corruption here.

However, years later, a Republican inquiry found that there had been no wrongdoing from Joe Biden in regards to the Ukraine business dealings.

Hunter Biden has claimed to be facing millions of dollars worth of debt, and has struggled to pay the legal costs for various criminal cases.

In 2024 Biden pleaded guilty to tax charges and was found guilty of an illegal drug user in possession of a gun. His dad was able to pardon him before his sentencing.